Adonais
by Neko-chan -Silvered Tongue
Summary: [For Ocean] Y/YY; The Pharaoh is dead and his lover lost--so much anger and hatred directed at one single item. But, in the end, love conquers all... right?


Adonais

By: Neko-chan

  
  


A/N: Written for Ocean as a congrats for winning 'Zoo-san's fanfiction contest. Ocean came in first and the story totally deserved its spot--it was _amazing_. So, once again: Congratulations, Ocean! *hugs* ... Many thanks to my new beta reader, Baka~! (Even though he's actually a _brat_. P) =^^=

WARNING: Shounen-ai. Yuugi/Yami no Yuugi. (Because it's Ocean's favorite pairing.)

DISCLAIMER: If I was he, and he was me--would that make me he? And if I was he and he was me, would that mean that I would _finally_ be able to claim Yu-Gi-Oh! as my own? Or: If I was he and he was me, would the mean that Yu-Gi-Oh! _still_ belonged to him? XD

  
  


~ * ~

"I weep for Adonais -he is dead!  
O, weep for Adonais! though our tears  
Thaw not the frost which binds so dear a head!  
And thou, sad Hour, selected from all years  
To mourn our loss, rouse thy obscure compeers,  
And teach them thine own sorrow, say: "With me  
Died Adonais; till the Future dares  
Forget the Past, his fate and fame shall be  
An echo and a light unto eternity!""

~Snippet of "Adonais" by Percy Bysshe Shelley

~~~

Your hands are cold--I don't know how to warm them and make your fingers, your palms, your skin alive once again. Your hands have been cold for days and I cried the last of my tears many centuries ago. (Centuries? How could it be centuries? You've only been dead a week. And yet... to me, it's been forever.) The counselors have been trying to pull me away from you for hours now.

They tell me to let you be--to let the embalming ceremonies begin.

They tell me that you will find peace and justice in the afterlife.

They tell me that I should be _happy_ for you.

But, truly, how can I be happy for you?

You've left me.

My once-grand Pharaoh, you've left me lost and bereft, wandering alone in a world that I do not understand. This world has always belonged to you. I never understood it--not once. All of the court lessons you had me take were useless... but you always knew that, didn't you? And yet you still smiled, holding me close, and whispering soft words in a language I never understood. Your lips used to brush against my ear, kissing my throat gently as you made your way downwards. I used to shiver, my skin tingling, as you made love to me.

Did you know that if I didn't love you so much, I would hate you?

You've left me broken, Pharaoh.

I'm not _whole_.

My other half died.

~~~

Whispers.

Hisses.

Murmurs.

Everyone was talking about him and he could hear them all. They thought that he couldn't hear them, didn't _care_ about them talking about him. But they were wrong on all accounts. He didn't care, though. Nothing mattered to him. Not any more, anyway.

The one person that he cared about the most was dead.

That person had left him alone.

"What a disgrace!" one of the monsters snarled behind a cupped hand. The nobleman glanced over at the slave sitting on the balcony and just as quickly returned his gaze to his cousin. "Did you hear? The priests want to keep him! Raise him as one of our own! Isn't that just dreadful? I mean, can you imagine a _slave_ passing as one of the _nobles_? It sickens me to just think about it!"

The boy continued to ignore the nobleman, gazing out over the city to watch the Nile glitter and shine as it made its long journey through the desert. Yes, he could hear them--he just didn't care about what they were saying. He never liked them, anyway. They were all pompous. Every last one of them.

The river flashed brilliantly, the sun reflecting off its surface, and he blinked, clearing the afterimages from his eyes.

A barge slowly lazed on by and he watched it with curious violet eyes. The sweet tunes of drums and cymbals drifted up to him on a slight breeze. Someone laughed, the sound childlike and happy, and the small slave boy wished the he could join in the laughter.

"I just wish the palace guards would leave the little runt outside the gates. After all, with the Pharaoh dead and gone--what need have we for him? I say we send him back onto the streets where he belongs!"

Finally tired of listening to the drivel that the nobles hissed when they thought that he wasn't paying attention, the slave boy stood up and silently walked past the two courtiers. They paused, watching him make his way past with slitted, snake-like eyes. He ignored them and continued on his way--through twists and turns of the corridors, ducking into doorways, and scurrying across huge open-air rooms--deeper and deeper into the palace.

The slave boy stopped in front of two huge gold-plated doors, pausing slightly as he stared up at them. The eye of Ra looked down at him and he could feel the weight of its power pressing down upon him. He paused for a little bit while longer and then pushed open the double doors, slipping into the Pharaoh's chambers.

The rooms that made up the Pharaoh's inner sanctum had been looted by the palace priests several days before; everything that once had value to the Pharaoh was to buried with him deep within the secret tomb of his pyramid. There was one thing that the priests _hadn't_ taken, however: The golden puzzle in the shape of an upside down pyramid lying innocently upon the bed.

"You're the cause of all this. You're the reason why he died. You're the reason why I'm broken, shredded in half. Because of you, I'll never be whole again," he softly said to the pyramid, blinking back unexpected tears.

Suddenly, he snarled viscously and darted forward, grabbing the long golden chain from which the puzzle hung and threw it, slamming it against the wall. The puzzle broke into parts, much like the boy who threw it, whole no longer. Small golden pieces scattered across the room, spreading further and further away from the center.

"I... I _hate_ you."

He slowly slid to the floor, swallowing sobs as the centerpiece with the eye of Horus stared balefully back at him. He glared back, still stubbornly swallowing his sobs. "I don't care what happens in the future. I hate you and I'll always hate you. You took away the only thing that ever mattered to me. You took _him_ away!!!"

The boy gave up his futile fight and leaned forward, reaching out to grab the heart of the puzzle to throw out the open window. Before he could, light burst from within the Pharaoh's bedchambers and a strong hand stilled the slave boy. He blinked and looked up into the sad eyes of his lover's former priest.

"I want to destroy it--just as it destroyed me," he whispered softly, closing his eyes to avoid Mahaado's gaze. "I'd never really understood the word 'hate' until the only thing that ever mattered to me was taken away. Why can't I make it feel just a little bit of what I feel? Is that so very wrong?"

Gentle hands slowly wiped away the tears that were flowing from the boy's eyes. Starting in surprise, he opened violet orbs and looked at Mahaado, who was smiling at him. The now-turned Black Magician reached forward and pressed a finger to the boy's lips, asking for silence as he tried to teach the boy something important. The slave obeyed Mahaado, staring up at him expectantly.

The Black Magician took the boy's hand and unfurled the clenched fingers, holding up the eye of Horus for him to see. The boy scowled at the puzzle piece--the piece returned in kind, seeming to glare back angrily.

Seeing this, Mahaado growled slightly and directed the boy's attention once again to himself. The one-time priest pointed to the puzzle piece and to the boy's heart, again returning the eye of Horus to the slave's limp hand. Mahaado paused for a moment longer, then poked the boy on his chest. The boy blinked.

~It does not matter if your love is gone for now. It does not matter if he is gone in the next life or the one that follows. You must understand, small one, that you and your love are forever linked. It may take centuries or millennia, but you _will_ see each other once again. The puzzle is your link to one another. You cannot destroy it for it represents the both of you. It hurts now and it will hurt several lifetimes from now--but that hurt will eventually end and it will be replaced with hope. I promise you this.~

He sighed. "Will the pain truly go away one day? Will the hatred eventually fade?" Violet eyes stared up expectantly while he waited with bated breath. "I don't want to hurt and hate anymore. I want to be happy. I want to be with my love again."

Mahaado leaned forward and scooped up the small boy in his arms, cradling his head against the one-time priest's strong chest. 

~The two of you will one day meet again. This I promise you, young master. It will be a long time from now--but you will live with the hope of seeing your Pharaoh in the distant future. You _will_ one day be with your love once again.~

And, for the very first time in a week, Yuugi smiled.

~~~

*20th Century*

The last piece of the puzzle slowly slid into place. The young boy stared at the finished puzzle and smiled happily. It had taken so very long to complete. Centuries to complete, no, millennia to complete. But... it was done now. And that was the only thing that mattered.

There was a bright flash of light and the boy looked up into a pair of ruby-red eyes. The boy's smile broadened slightly and he slowly walked forward. The new arrival didn't move, just continued staring at the boy who was moving closer with every step with wide eyes.

"You owe me." The crimson-eyed boy blinked and cocked an eyebrow, raising the eyebrow nearly to his hairline. The smaller one continued: "You owe me. You owe me for three millennia. I've had to wait that long for you, did you know? It's been _so_ long..."

Yuugi reached up to put his arms around the ancient Pharaoh's neck, burrowing his face into the area of golden skin where throat met shoulder. The Pharaoh paused slightly and then suddenly wrapped his arms tightly around the waist of his smaller counterpart... his love. 

"I've missed you _so_ much, my Pharaoh."

"And I, you, little one."

. . .

"Good. 'Cause I've certainly waited long enough for you."

With that said, he reached up and pulled his Yami's head down to meet his waiting lips.

  
  


~Owari~

::End::

  
  


A/N: *looks ficu over* ... x.x;; ... I've written a cliched story. Though~ I _was_ able to give the reason why Yuugi's Sennen Puzzle was broken up into pieces when he first received it. D ... I hope you enjoyed it anyway, Ocean. ^^;; ... And, once again, congratulations on coming in first place! =^^=

B/N (Baka-Beta Note): *looks the _fan fiction_ over* This took too long. Muffy write shorter. I want Red Bull. 


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